Thermodynamic Aspects of Pavement Engineering

Abstract

Scientific and practical calculations on the thermal stability of typical automobile road surface (semi-limited objects) with fluctuations in air temperatures, transitions from positive to negative, with actual heat transfer coefficients, thermal conductivity of components, specific mass isobaric heat capacities, material densities, periods of regular fluctuations are presented. The study shows that temperature fluctuations occur in road surfaces, therefore deformations are brought about in them, generating thermal cracks. Thermal deformations include free, proportional to temperature gradients, stressed deformations due to temperature stresses, characterized by linear thermal expansion coefficients. In road materials, physical and mechanical properties change over time: strength, moduli of elastic longitudinal deformations, shear, transverse deformation coefficients. Thus, the temperature of pavement materials depends on the coordinates, time, and thermophysical characteristics of the materials. Thermal engineering calculations have shown that many road surfaces have limited thermal stability; under the influence of relatively small external influences, they are more stable (supercooled water vapor exists for a short time, turning into a liquid, saturated, supersaturated steam into a superheated liquid, this depends on the radiation characteristics of the surfaces, the presence of external disturbances, etc.). Thus, a complex non-stationary thermal regime takes place, when the temperature fields of the coatings, their gradients of temperature potentials, and masses depend on the boundary conditions of the 1st–4th kind. A citation analysis of the data of the Journal Citation Reports of world scientific serial publications has been developed to carry out research on heat and mass transfer in road surface. The analysis shows that in order to improve the reliability and durability of pavements, fundamental studies of both the physical and technical and thermal properties of all components of road construction mixtures are of great importance.